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Thursday, August 25, 2016

Mood line

To me the simple view that entertainment is a way to safely control mood--or try to control it--is very effective, and has helped me figure out when something meant to be entertainment works for me, or not.

And it is SUCH a simple idea, where that safety aspect of controlling mood also helps contrast with things that can not be safe, like alcohol. People drink alcohol to help control mood too, and if drink too much, is definitely very NOT safe.

More importantly as a fan have realized can now easily explain a sad thing when writers or others with some creative endeavor, like a television show comes to mind, break what I call the mood line.

So it's like, you have your favorite television show, and it helps your mood, where can be a complex constellation of feelings. And I've talked the mood of a completed television reboot in a prior post for reference, where show was successful but I was unsatisfied with the ending. So you enjoy watching some television show and then inexplicably there is some episode that just seems to ruin everything. What happened?

I say the people who create the show, broke the mood line. And now can say that means that suddenly the mood the show evoked for you, was ruined.

Why is that done?

In my opinion it's always an error. Which is why as a fan I like mood focus, as writers can think it's being creative, or producers can say it's needed to advance the show, or expand the audience when is WRONG. When I say is a sign of ignorance. They just don't quite know what they're doing.

Modern audiences are being more brutal in addressing screw-ups too. Which I think is good.

It's not creative to disappoint your audience. It's bad performance.

Besides, if you understand the mood line you can do just about anything with the plot. Which is why you can see entertainment where the plot is shaky but it gives audiences the mood they want.

Mood is more important, because I'm saying that's the point of the entertainment. People are entertained when proper mood is evoked. If it isn't then they aren't entertained. Kind of like when at a dinner party and things are great and someone spits food on you laughing too hard at something. Ruins the mood.

Plot is important though too. And I think especially over time bad plot or plot holes can fail to get people to the proper mood. But in our times I think things have been so bad for so long with mood that people are kind of desperate.

So yeah as a fan who has been infuriated at what I see as bad writer or stupid executive decisions or whatever the dumb is that messes up entertainment I like, as well as someone who feels entertainment is a great thing for so many people to safely control mood, lots of reasons to push better.

Oh, yeah, if you want to help me, if someone talks entertainment? Just casually say something like, well entertainment really is just a way people use to safely control mood.

And play it cool too. You know like, everybody knows that kind of thing.

But of course I just made that up a bit over a year ago.


James Harris

Thursday, August 04, 2016

Notions am pondering

The web is a great way to express yourself. And more and more feel confident can say people are switching to the perspective you should focus where you have interest.

Sharing interest with others can work. But also you can run into antagonism if people are territorial which in my experience is in traditional fields where there is an established social hierarchy.

But the web doesn't care.

The web can actually be like a really cool friend which will endlessly give you little bits of encouragement or help guide you better if you are on the wrong track. Or just ignore you, if you're just totally not doing anything that interests others.

Because the web leverages attention.

Build something useful? And likely people will use it.

Question often.

The curiosity of the web is changing our world--it represents the curiosity of so many human beings on the web.

And human curiosity? That need to know is what has pushed our species to where it is today, which has both good and bad. Not so horrible I think as mythological tales might lead you to believe though time will tell.

Something I've noticed is that our curiosity is defining. It will take you somewhere, if you really have it. How curious you are will show itself whether you realize it or not.

For the most curious, it will drive you.

Best if your curiosity leads you to the best ideas, for a better world.


James Harris

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Free thinking for fun

Putting up ideas on a blog is fun, and one thing I also learned to do is to emphasize am some guy--as I like to put it--working at my own approaches to things.

But in our complex world we have experts who can dedicate a lifetime to fully understanding certain areas who gain that expertise with intense schooling or other training, and I shy away from areas where that is necessary, in my opinion.

So for instance wouldn't attempt to give medical assessments, or legal opinions, or any of a number of things where I don't have the expertise.

Where I do operate is in the arena of basic ideas at the very foundations, like I'll puzzle over what is science, which is meta science. Or try to consider the essence of what is money. Or more recently have focused on entertainment.

And it can seem strange but knowing what science is, is completely different than the complexity of a scientific discipline. Like you can know what an automobile is, without being able to tear down the engine.

And LOTS of people use money just fine, without having to have advanced training in economic theory. To me that is kind of a clue. Like I know calculus.

Who uses calculus just for fun? People who know calculus and most people don't.

Takes advanced mathematical training to do calculus for fun. But millions of people, um, billions of people use money without advanced training. To me is an indication of simple basic principles.

Focusing on the most basic of fundamentals lets me let my imagination run free, while also letting me test things rather easily. While also allowing musings to potentially be accessible to others with interest without it having to be a big deal.

And believe me I know the complex areas. Like let me start babbling about partial differential equations and how many would keep reading?

While some people would find that intriguing and follow along ok.

(If you DO want to read me talking a partial differential equation click here.) 

Ok I used to know a lot more calculus than I do now. Haven't used it much for fun recently though I did look over a couple of years ago variational calculus and it finally made sense! That was so cool.


James Harris

Could entertainment mood analysis be a business?

In a mood to brainstorm, where now am refining ideas versus basic research, but still brainstorming involves limited critiquing, so yeah MY brainstorming has SOME, and limited editing to posts. So I'm wary of saying a post is brainstorming and then feeling like have to edit, so if that does happen would just strip all the brainstorming out of it.

And really liked doing the mood analysis recently of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, and guess it went over ok, but yeah talking for the public? With such things maybe more interesting to entertainment executives?

Potentially as a business thing, as making it all up as I go along so am talking making up an entirely new industry if mood analysis is not a thing already and I guess is not? I don't know. Will research it more. But I focus on mood as functionally defined entertainment as ANYTHING humans use to safely try to control mood. And brainstorming can fiddle with my own freaking definition for purists--um, purist is me?--who have never seen it said that way.

Emphasis on safety removes other things used to control mood, like drugs. Or anything that can cause harm, so yeah that could be ANY kind of harm and maybe is worth focusing on how safe true entertainment actually is. Meandering a bit.

Oh, so let's say some television show wants a mood analysis as maybe ratings are dropping and executives are desperate enough to try out new ideas from some guy on some blog. I'd be like, ok send me some episodes around the drop, unless a new show and could watch from the beginning. And I'd do a mood analysis which looks like one have done and posted, and send it to them. If they thought it useful then they'd pay whatever fee I came up with, and that would be that--known upfront of course as continue light edit. If they thought was a crock then they would wander off and say nothing. I would say nothing too. Or in business terms, everything would be kept confidential, whether they liked it, or not.

That could be SO much fun for me. Especially if got a real industry started and got episodes ahead of audiences if built up that level of trust, and...brainstorming is so much fun. I've said brainstorming more in this post than in any other I've done as new territory! Is cool. Feels kind of scary. Is that even possible? Could entertainment executives actually pay me for such?

Oh so yeah, could be anything in entertainment, and not just television shows which is the power of a real definition if that works! So is anything set up for business?

Nope. Just musing. Didn't want to use that word again, but hey is brainstorming! And went about as I expected. Now light editing so don't just look stupid, and if you see this post then it survived the brainstorming label or you may see this post with all of that stripped! And written as a regular post, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun, or as fast. As think have been typing for about five minutes.

Other reason to brainstorm is to just get something quick. Write fast. Get out, and get on with...is that copyrighted? Ok, am done. Brainstorm DONE.

Light edit done. Here we go. Posting.


James Harris

Monday, August 01, 2016

When ideas should pay

One of the things I like to do is give away ideas for the good of people all over planet Earth, which is why I know they are to be given away. Because my own assessment is that money at its best is for when you do a favor for a stranger on a contract basis, where everything is legal, of course.

And I'm on planet Earth, so am I doing anyone a favor if I think ideas can help the planet? Nope. Stuck here with everybody else until can build a starship...yeah I would like to build a starship. Don't know how yet. But not really stuck as think SO much progress has been made by our species, and we're just getting started really as things are making more sense, which also seems to give a greater sense of despair for many. It's like we can sense what is possible, and want it now.

So to me ideas SHOULD pay if those ideas can be part of products or services which are legally provided for strangers on a contract basis which may be written but not necessarily, without having an overriding community benefit, especially if global.

To me the assertion despite its simplicity is increasingly fascinating. The basic ideas embodied are ones have puzzled over for a few years now to get to that form of expressing.

My favorite example lately is the convenience store.

Ever wonder why prices of items in convenience stores can be so much higher than elsewhere? You're seeing the price of the convenience.

Convenience stores are FULL of ideas that pay, and yes, you may know the store owner, but even if that person is at the register taking your money as payment back for the favor of items conveniently placed there for you, how many of you are going to really get to know that person?

Please don't try after reading. Would be odd and awkward am sure. Convenience store owners all over the world wondering what happened? Why are all these customers trying to get to know me?

But you see, you can get that value from a stranger for one reason only--money.

Money facilitates limited social trust. Letting you get the favor of ideas where who knows who figured them out or when, at your convenience, and the money is a social IOU backed by society to pay that person back at a later time.

Without money? There is no modern civilization.


James Harris